Christ, Lena (1881-1920)

Christ, Lena

NOVELIST (GERMANY)

BORN 30 Oct 1881, Glonn, Oberbayern - DIED 30 Jun 1920, München, Bayern: Waldfriedhof
BIRTH NAME Pichler, Magdalena
CAUSE OF DEATH suicide with poison capsule
GRAVE LOCATION München, Bayern: Waldfriedhof (044-3-14)

Lena Christ was an illegitimate child of Magdalena Pichler, a cook. She was raised by her stepgrandmother and an aunt. When she was seven years old her mother married Josef Isaak and took her to Munich.

In her mother's inn she had to do heavy work and in 1898 she decided to enter the convent in Ursberg. Within two years she returned home and in 1901 she married the bookkeeper Anton Leix. In 1902 they had a son, Toni. Two daughters followed in 1903 and 1906. Her husband was drinking heavily and she lifeft him with her children.

To earn a living she startted writing and after she met the author Peter Jerusalem, who later in life was known as Peter Benedix. She married him in 1912. In the same year she published "Erinnerungen einer Überflüssigen" with the help of Ludwig Thoma. It was a success. When the First World War broke out she lived in Lindach near Glonn in Bavaria. She published a book about Bavaria in 1915 and in 1917 she followed her husband to Landshut, where he served in the army. Lena wrote several more books.

During a reading for wounded soldiers she met a young singer and she fell in love with him. At the end of the war she left her husband. By this time she was suffering from tuberculosis. Suffering from financial trouble she produced some fake pictures and after this was discovered she feared a prison sentence.

She went to the Waldfriedhof in Munich where she met Peter Jerusalem. He handed her a dose of cyankali and she killed herself at the grave of her lover's father (grave 44-3-1). She was buried herself at the Waldfriedhof (grave 44-3-14). Her youngest daughter Alexandra (1906-1933) was buried in the same grave.

Images

The grave of Lena Christ at the Waldfriedhof, München.
Picture by Androom (30 Aug 2005)